Rosetta Genomics Ltd, leading developer and provider of microRNA-based molecular diagnostic tests, has received a new notice of allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (US PTO) for US patent application 11/418,870, including claims related to Sanger hsa-miR-451. miR-451 is used in the company's miRview mets test, which accurately identifies the primary tumour site in patients with metastatic cancer and Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP).

With this new patent allowance, Rosetta's intellectual property portfolio includes 10 issued US patents, 10 US allowed patent applications and one allowed patent application in Australia. Rosetta Genomics maintains a robust intellectual property strategy to protect its leadership position in microRNA technology and has 95 patent applications, 35 of them filed in the US and 60 around the rest of the world.

"This recent notice of allowance of miR-451 is yet another important building block in our constantly growing comprehensive IP estate, as we continue to harness the power of microRNAs," said Kenneth A Berlin, president and CEO of Rosetta Genomics. "We view our leading position in microRNA IP as one of Rosetta Genomics' core strengths, and we are continuously leveraging this strength to advance our overall business operations. microRNAs are well established as sensitive biomarkers, potential drug targets, as well as key players in a wide range of cellular processes, and we are proud that our early discoveries in this field are now materializing into a robust portfolio of issued and allowed patents."

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are recently discovered, small RNAs that act as master regulators of protein synthesis, and have been shown to be highly effective biomarkers.

miRview products are a series of microRNA-based diagnostic tests developed by Rosetta Genomics.

Rosetta Genomics is a leading developer of microRNA-based molecular diagnostics.